Editing Dev Anand (section)

== Artistry and legacy ==
=== Acting style and reception ===
Anand is considered as one the greatest actor in Indian cinema.<ref name="Follywood Flashback" /> Anand played the leading man from 1940s till the 1980s and was known for his strong roles. He is noted for playing roles in diverse genres — from romantic dramas to actions to thrillers to musical dramas.<ref name="Follywood Flashback">{{cite book |last1=Reuben |first1=Bunny |title=Follywood Flashback : A Collection of Movie Memories |date=1993 |publisher=Indus |location=New Delhi |isbn=9788172231064 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YrwaAQAAIAAJ&q=follywood+flashback |oclc=651858921}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=There's something about Dev: Revisiting Dev Anand's 'Guide' in 2023 |magazine=The Quint |url=https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/celebrities/dev-anand-100-birth-anniversary-revisiting-guide-waheeda-rehman-movie-old-bollywood-superstar |access-date=31 December 2023 |date=26 September 2023}}</ref> [[Anupama Chopra]] termed Anand the "most dashing hero", Indian cinema has ever seen and added, "The nodding head, flopping arms, casual charm inspired a legion of actors. Yet, in 77 years, Dev Saab hasn’t had a true successor."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=A one-in-a-billion phenomenon: Anupama Chopra on Dev Anand |magazine=Hindustan Times |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/art-culture/a-one-in-a-billion-phenomenon-anupama-chopra-on-dev-anand-101696005105372.html |url-status=live |access-date=30 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310234730/https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/art-culture/a-one-in-a-billion-phenomenon-anupama-chopra-on-dev-anand-101696005105372-amp.html |archive-date=10 March 2024}}</ref> Although Anand was mainly a romantic actor, but he also played complicated, compromised characters. Anand's film ''Baazi'' is regarded as the forerunner of the spate of "Bombay Noir". He later appeared in many thrillers like ''C.I.D'', ''Kala Pani'', ''Jaal'', ''Jewel Thief'' and ''Hare Rama Hare Krishna''.<ref name="Dev Eternal Anand">{{cite book |last1=Bajpai |first1=Trinetra |last2=Anshula |first2=Bajpai |title=Dev Eternal Anand |date=2017 |publisher=National Publishing House |isbn=978-81-214-0362-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qXXBxwEACAAJ }}</ref> On this, filmmaker [[Sriram Raghavan]] said, "Much before Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, much more than Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor, it was Dev Anand’s bold film choices that shaped what is called the Bombay noir."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Sriram Raghavan: Remembering the dark side to Dev Anand |magazine=Scroll.in |url=https://scroll.in/reel/1056179/sriram-raghavan-the-dark-side-to-dev-anand-needs-to-be-celebrated-too |url-status=live |access-date=21 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211234730/https://amp.scroll.in/reel/1056179/sriram-raghavan-the-dark-side-to-dev-anand-needs-to-be-celebrated-too |archive-date=11 February 2024}}</ref>

Devesh Sharma of ''Filmfare'' termed him a "debonair hero" and noted, "His true matinee idol good looks, suave demeanour and charismatic screen presence made his fans swoon every time he came on screen."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Best Dev Anand Movies |magazine=Filmfare |url=https://m.filmfare.com/features/best-dev-anand-movies-43840.amp |url-status=live |access-date=30 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128234730/https://m.filmfare.com/features/best-dev-anand-movies-43840.amp |archive-date=28 November 2020}}</ref> [[Subhash K. Jha]] of ''[[Firstpost]]'' called him the "most easygoing superstar cinema has ever known" and said, "Dev Anand symbolized the most dazzling bastion of Hindi cinema. He was flamboyant, debonair, mischievous and romantic."<ref>{{cite news |title=Why there will never be another like Dev Anand! |work=Firstpost |url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/why-there-will-never-be-another-like-dev-anand-11331571.html/amp |url-status=live |access-date=26 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128234730/https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/why-there-will-never-be-another-like-dev-anand-11331571.html/amp |archive-date=28 November 2020}}</ref> Shekhar Gupta of ''[[The Print]]'' said, "Nobody could match Dev Anand for style." He added, "Many of his films were ahead of his time. But you always walked out of the sultry small-town hall copying Dev Anand’s leaning-tower gait, his mannerism, and always hummed his songs."<ref>{{cite news |title=Lessons in stardom from Dev Anand |work=The Print |url=https://theprint.in/opinion/lessons-stardom-dev-anand/10948/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128234730/https://theprint.in/opinion/lessons-stardom-dev-anand/10948/ |archive-date=28 November 2020}}</ref> Journalist Rauf Ahmed added Anand on his "Biggest stars in Hindi filmdom" list and noted, "For almost five decades Anand has continued to fascinate his fans with his never-say-die spirit and flamboyance. He is one actor for whom time has had the courtesy to stand still."<ref>{{cite news |title=The editor on the biggest stars in Hindi filmdom |work=Rediff.com |url=https://m.rediff.com/millenni/rauf.htm |url-status=live |access-date=30 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128234730/https://m.rediff.com/millenni/rauf.htm |archive-date=28 November 2020}}</ref> [[Saibal Chatterjee]] of ''[[The Tribune]]'' noted, "There is nobody quite like Dev Anand. A timeless Bollywood icon, an eternal dreamer and a man of action, his creative life has never known anything akin to a full stop."<ref name="DevTribune" /> Siddharth Bhatia said, "Anand's various roles – whether in the black-and-white 1950s, when he usually played a down-at-heel cabbie or con artist, or in the 1960s when he matured, and even later – were all marked with a can-do spirit; maudlin self-pity was not his style."<ref>{{cite news |title=Dev Anand: An evergreen inspiration to generations |work=India Today |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/dev-anand-an-evergreen-inspiration-to-generations-147771-2011-12-04 |url-status=live |access-date=31 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228234730/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/dev-anand-an-evergreen-inspiration-to-generations-147771-2011-12-04 |archive-date=28 December 2017}}</ref>

===Comparison with Gregory Peck===
Anand was often compared to the famous Hollywood actor [[Gregory Peck]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Bollywood+Gregory+Peck+Anand+dies/5808642/story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111207033621/http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Bollywood+Gregory+Peck+Anand+dies/5808642/story.html|url-status=dead |title=Montreal Gazette|archive-date=7 December 2011|access-date=25 December 2019}}</ref> Anand said that he didn't feel ecstatic hearing the tagline bestowed on him in his heyday. "When you are at an impressionable age you make idols, but when you grow out of the phase, you develop your own persona. I don't want to be known as India's Gregory Peck, I am Dev Anand".<ref name="Mid Day">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130922150336/http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/2003/jun/55922.htm I am not India's Gregory Peck: Dev Anand]}}. Mid Day (14 June 2003). Retrieved on 9 November 2018.</ref> Acquainted with the Bollywood actor, Peck's personal interactions with him spanned four to five long meetings in Europe and Mumbai.<ref name="Mid Day"/><ref>Afsana Ahmed and Smrity Sharma (14 June 2003) [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/bombay-times/when-gregory-peck-bowled-dev-anands-girlfriend-over/articleshow/22674.cms When Gregory Peck bowled Dev Anand's girlfriend over] . ''Times of India''. Retrieved on 9 November 2018.</ref>

Dev Anand and Suraiya met Peck for the first time at Bombay's Willingdon Club, after the Filmfare Awards in 1954. He knew of the "Indian Star" as an actor, more so probably because his romance with Suraiya was grabbing the headlines. The second time they met was in [[Rome]] when Dev Anand was on his way back from the Venice Film Festival, and they exchanged pleasantries. The third meeting was in [[London]] on the set of ''Moby Dick''. However, Suraiya asked for an exclusive meeting with her idol at her house. Though Anand says jealousy was natural for anyone in love, he didn't mind that he was not invited. "I didn't quite feel anything. It wasn't as if they were going to fall in love or make love. Even if they would have, it wouldn't have mattered. I was mature enough. Moreover, he wasn't my rival. I too was a big star by then," says Anand.<ref>{{cite web |title=The romance that caused Dev Anand to be known as 'Gregory Peck of India' |work=Scroll.in |date=6 April 2017 |access-date=28 October 2020 |url=https://scroll.in/reel/833826/the-romance-that-caused-dev-anand-to-be-known-as-gregory-peck-of-india |archive-date=16 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816142138/https://amp.scroll.in/article/833826/the-romance-that-caused-dev-anand-to-be-known-as-gregory-peck-of-india |url-status=live }}</ref>